1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a timed, temperature controlled agitation and cooking system and associated agitator and cooking pot and to a method and a combined agitator/cooker for automatically making roux. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automatic system designed to brown flour into a roux by mixing for example wheat flour with cooking oil while applying constant, controlled heat to the ingredients while agitation is controlled and prolonged to prevent any scorching of the roux.
2. Prior Art Background
A roux is a basic cooking ingredient used especially in French and Creole cooking, as well as in Continental and Italian cooking, and is used for example as a base for making gravies, soups, sauces, etc. A roux is made by cooking a mixture of browned flour and vegetable oil or other fat based substance until the desired cooked, browned mixture is reached. In classical French cooking, the roux is made by mixing browned flour with melted butter.
For further background information on the ingredients of the prior art steps for making a roux, various excerpts from cook-books are presented below:
Larousse Gastronomique, by Prosper Montagne; Crown Publishers, Inc., New York (1961): PA0 "ROUX--Mixture of butter or other fatty substance and flour, cooked together for varying periods of time depending on its final use. PA0 Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer et al; Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. (1964): PA0 A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, by Andre L. Simon; Bramhall House, New York (compilation of previous publications 1939-1946):
"The roux is the thickening element in sauces. PA1 "There are three kinds of roux: white roux, blond roux and brown roux. PA1 "Brown roux is used to thicken rich brown sauces like "Espagnole" and "Demi-glace" (see SAUCE). It is made by cooking flour in clarified butter in the oven, gently and for a long time, stirring frequently. The clarified fat from a marimite may also be used, but in each case the proportions are equal amounts by tablespoons of flour and of butter or fat. PA1 "This roux should be a good light brown colour. It can be kept for quite a long time. PA1 "Blond roux is made only with butter. The proportions of butter and flour are the same as for brown roux. It is cooked more rapidly and is only made at the moment it is needed. Its colour should be a pale gold. PA1 "White roux is used for "Bechamel" and "Veloute" sauces and special thick soups. PA1 "It is made by cooking flour and clarified butter for 5 minutes over the heat and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon." PA1 "Roux: The most common thickeners for savory sauces are the roux--white, blonde or brown. All of these are made of the same ingredients to begin with, but change in character as heat is applied. These mixtures of flour and fats are blended gently over very low heat from 5 minutes to a much longer period, depending on your available time and your patience. White roux should not color; blonde, barely; and brown should reach the color of hazelnut and smell deliciously baked. Unless a roux is cooked long enough to dispel the raw taste of flour, the unpleasant flavor will dominate the strongest stocks and seasoning. And unless the flour and butter are stirred to distribute the heat to allow the starch granules to swell evenly, they will later fail to absorb the liquid. Therefore the sauce will be thin. This heated blending period is important. Using too high heat to try hurrying it will burn the flour, giving it a bitter taste and it will shrink the starch, making in incapable of continuing to swell. PA1 "For White roux-based sauces, see Bechamel, page 322; for blonde, see Banquette de Veau, page 419; for brown, see Sauce Espagnole, page 326. Since most cooks use some form of roux every day, you may find it a time-saver to make on in advance and store it in tablespoon size units under refrigeration. It will keep in the freezer, too, for several months if you do the following: when the roux has been cooked to the desired color and is still soft, measure it by tablespoons on a baked sheet and freeze. Transfer the frozen wavers to a plastic bag or wide-topped container and store in the freezer. To thicken sauce, drop several wavers of the original roux in the sauce to reach the thickness desired. Or you may soften wafers in a double boiler over hot water and proceed as usual with the making of the sauce." PA1 "ROUX: a generic term for various flour bindings. A roux is sometimes brown, sometimes white of "blond", according the use that it is intended for. It is really but a Bechamel sauce (q.v.) in its essentials. One or more spoonfuls of butter are placed in a small saucepan and, when it is melted, the same amount of flour is added and stirred into the butter. If a "thin" sauce is required, one spoonful of flour is used to two of butter. The mixture must colour gently to the desired shade, then the liquid indicated by the recipe is added, little by little, and the sauce seasoned as desired and allowed to mellow by the side of the stove. The dripping from a piece of roast meat is sometimes used instead of butter; this improves the flavor of the sauce if intended to be served with the roast."
To prepare a roux in the past has taken a great amount of attention, care and time with much hand stirring to produce a quality roux and in particular to prevent scorching of the roux. As a result of these demanding factors, the automatic preparation of a roux has, it is believed, never been heretofore achieved on a practical basis, requiring a relatively great deal of time, patience and skill in the preparation of roux by hand by commercial processors, chefs and home consumers.